Even though there has been considerable study of alternative electrochemical systems, the lead-acid battery is still the battery-of-choice for general purpose uses such as starting a vehicle, boat or airplane engine, emergency lighting, electric vehicle motive power, energy buffer storage for solar-electric energy, and field hardware whether industrial or military. These batteries may be periodically charged from a generator.
The conventional lead-acid battery is a multicell structure. Each cell contains a plurality of vertical positive and negative plates formed of lead-based alloy grids containing layers of electrochemically active pastes. The paste on the positive plate when charged contains lead dioxide which is the positive active material and the negative plates contain a negative active material such as sponge lead. This battery has been widely used in the automotive industry for many years, and there is substantial experience and tooling in place for manufacturing this battery and its components, and the battery is based on readily available materials, is inexpensive to manufacture and is widely accepted by consumers.
The open circuit potential developed between each positive and negative plate is about 2 volts. Since the plates are connected in parallel, the combined potential for each cell will also be about 2 volts regardless of the number of plates utilized in the cell. One or more cells are then connected in series to provide a battery of desired voltage. Common low voltage batteries of 6 volts have 3 serially connected cells, 12 volt batteries include 6 serially connected cells and 24 volt batteries contain 12 serially connected cells. The bus bars and top straps used for intercell connection add to the weight and the cost of the battery and often are subject to atmospheric or electrochemical corrosion at or near the terminals.
Another problem with lead-acid batteries is their limited lifetime due to shedding of the active materials from the vertically oriented positive and negative plates. During operation, these electrode materials shed and flake and fall down between the vertically oriented plates and accumulate at the bottom of the battery. After a period of operation, sufficient flakes accumulate to short circuit the grids resulting in a dead battery cell and shortened battery life.
Lead-acid batteries are inherently heavy due to use of the heavy metal lead in constructing the plates. Modern attempts to produce lightweight lead-acid batteries, especially in the aircraft, electric car and vehicle fields, have placed their emphasis on producing thinner plates from lighter weight materials used in place of and in combination with lead. The thinner plates allow the use of more plates for a given volume, thus increasing the power density. Some of these attempts have included battery structures in which the plates are stacked in horizontal configurations. Higher voltages are provided in a bipolar battery including bipolar plates capable of through-plate conduction to serially connect electrodes or cells. The horizontal orientation of the grids prevents the accumulation of flake lead compounds at the battery bottom. Downward movement of electrolyte can be blocked by use of glass or porous polypropylene mats to contain the electrolyte. Also, stratification of electrolyte is prevented since the electrolyte is confined and contained within the acid resistant mats by capillary action.
The bipolar plates must be impervious to electrolyte and be electrically conductive to provide a serial connection between cells. The bipolar plates also provide a continuous surface to prevent loss of active materials.
Most prior bipolar plates have utilized metallic substrates such as lead or lead alloys. The use of lead alloys, such as lead antimony, gives strength to the substrate but causes increased corrosion and gassing.
Alternate approaches have included plates formed by dispersing conductive particles or filaments such as carbon, graphite or metal in a resin binder such as polystyrene (U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,545), a plastic frame of polyvinyl chloride with openings carrying a battery active paste mixed with nonconductive fibers and short noncontacting lead fibers for strengthening the substrate (U.S. Pat. No. 3,466,193), a biplate having a layer of zinc and a polyisobutylene mixed with acetylene black and graphite particles for conductivity of the plate (U.S. Pat. No. 3,565,694), a substrate for a bipolar plate including polymeric material and vermicular expanded graphite (U.S. Pat. No. 3,573,122), a rigid polymer plastic frame having a grid entirely of lead filled with battery paste (U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,871), a thin, plastic substrate having lead strips on opposite faces, the lead strips being interconnected through an opening in the substrate and retained by plastic retention strips (U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,412), and a biplate having a substrate of thermoplastic material filled with finely divided vitreous carbon and a layer of lead-antimony foil bonded to the substrate for adhering active materials (U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,967).
Some more recent examples of batteries containing bipolar plates are U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,130 in which the biplate construction comprises a thin composite of randomly oriented conductive graphite, carbon or metal fibers imbedded in a resin matrix with strips of lead plated on opposite surfaces thereof. Ser. No. 279,841, filed July 2, 1981, discloses a biplate formed of a thin sheet of titanium covered with a conductive, protective layer of epoxy resin containing graphite powder.
Dispersed, conductive fibers form a conduction path by point-to-point contact of particles or fibers dispersed in an insulating matrix resin, and the through-plate serial conductivity is usually lower than desired. Fibrous fillers do increase the strength of the plate by forming a fiber-reinforced composite.
It has been attempted to increase the conductivity and strength of bipolar plates by adding a conductive filler such as graphite. Graphite has been used successfully as a conductive filler in other electrochemical cells, such as in the manganese dioxide, positive active paste of the common carbon-zinc cell, and it has been mixed with sulfur in sodium-sulfur cells. However, even though graphite is usually a fairly inert material, it is oxidized in the agressive electrochemical environment of the lead-acid cell to acetic acid. The acetate ions combine with the lead ion to form lead acetate, a weak salt readily soluble in the sulfuric acid electrolyte. This reaction depletes the active material from the paste and ties up the lead as a salt which does not contribute to production or storage or electricity. Acetic acid also attacks the lead grids of the positive electrodes during charge, ultimately causing them to disintegrate. Highly conductive metals such as copper or silver are not capable of withstanding the high potential and strong acid environment present at the positive plate of a lead-acid battery. A few electrochemically-inert metals such as platinum are reasonably stable. But the scarcity and high cost of such metals prevent their use in high volume commercial applications such as the lead-acid battery. Platinum would be a poor choice even if it could be afforded, because of its low gassing overpotentials.
A low cost, lightweight, stable bipolar plate is disclosed in my copending application Ser. No. 346,414, filed Feb. 18, 1982, for Bipolar Battery Plate. The plate is produced by placing lead pellets into apertures formed in a thermoplastic sheet and rolling or pressing the sheet with a heated platen to compress the pellets and seal them into the sheet. This method involves several mechanical operations and requires that every aperture be filled with a pellet before heating and pressing in order to form a fluid-impervious plate.